Fractionating tower



' July 9, 1935.

J. H. ERTER FRACTIONAT ING TOWER Fi'led Sept. '29, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR 1 J0/7 7 f/ f/"ffif' vz o Z A TTONE Y July 9, 1935.. J. H.ERTER FRACTION/WING TOWER Filed Sept. 29, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ITIIII'IIIIIII' Ill mum,

11v VEN TOR Jab/7 Mfr/er T0 {2N5 y Patented July 9, 1935 UNITED STATES2,007,525 FRACTIONATING TOWER John H. Erter, New York, N. Y., assignorto 5100 Products Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware Application September 29, 1933, Serial No. 691,493

X 4 Claims.

My invention relates to a fractionating tower for hydrocarbon oils andmore particularly to an improved fractionating tower bafileconstruction.

In the fractionation of hydrocarbon oils, oil

5 vapors are introduced into the tower at a point of flash and allowedto pass upwardly countercurrent to reflux condensate formed therein on aseries of fractionating decks or trays. The

vapors rise through the tower and the liquid re- 10 flux condensateflows downwardly through the tower. Vapors having different boilingpoints collect upon the trays progressively, the lighter condensatescollecting on the upper trays. In

order to prevent entrained liquid particles from the still, which heatsthe hydrocarbon oil to distillation temperature before it is-fiashedinto the fractionating tower, from passing up the tower andcontaminating the various reflux condensates, baflles are provided. Ipropose to provide a novel and eflicient bafile structure.

As the uncondensed vapors are withdrawn from the top of thetower,entrained liquid particles of hydrocarbon oil of higher boiling pointthan the desired end product are carried out 25 with the vapors. Inorder to prevent this, I

provide bafiles in the path of the vapors and, at the same time, utilizethe baflies in a truss construction, enabling me to eliminate ahemispherical head for the fractionating tower. 30 The object of myinvention is to provide an improved fractionating tower baffleconstruction as pointedout. above.

in the accompanying drawings which form part of the instantspecification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and in'whichlike reference numerals are used to represent like parts in the variousviews; 7

- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a fractionating tower equippedwith one mode of carrying out my invention.

Figure 2 'is a plan view of a fractionating tower, shown in Figure 1,with the head of the tower removed.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on a line 3--3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view with a part of the tower brokenaway, taken on a line 4-41 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an elevation of a bafile bundle used in carrying out myinvention.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on a line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a detail showing the supporting saddlefor the baffles at the point of flash.

In general, my invention contemplates the use of inclined baflle bundlesmade of a group of angles assembled to provide a circuitous passagewayfor'the vapors, in order to prevent liquid particles from contaminatingthe side stream products withdrawn from the tower, or the vaporswithdrawn overhead. The baflles themselves are sufliciently strong toact as strength members supporting the head of the tower, enabling me toeliminate a hemispherical head con- 10 struction such as has been usedhitherto for purposes of strength. This strength is needed becausefractionating towers are frequently operated under partial vacuums. Thehead of the tower must therefore, be strong enough'to withstand externalpressure.

Moreparticularly referring now to the drawings, a. shell or casing l isbuilt in any suitable manner such as by riveting or welding plates, and

is provided internally with circular stringers 2 tower through inletpipes 8 and d, which are dis- ,posed tangentially of the tower and setto discharge against swirl plates iii and it, underneath a'pair of setsof inclined bundles of baiiies l2 and B3. The baiile bundles i2 and iiiare supported ina saddle member it, as can readily be seen by referenceto Figures 4 and '7. A plurality of holes is are provided in the bottomof the saddle member to permit the entrained oil removed from the vaporsto flow downwardly. The baflie bundles l2 and 13 comprise a plurality ofgroups of 40 angles or other suitable structural shapes as as canreadily be seen by reference to Figure 6. The angles 05 are mountedbetween shoes El and 98 by welding or in any other suitable manner ascan readily be seen by reference to Figure 5. A plurality of groups thusformed are supported along the saddle to form a continuous row ofbafiies as can readily be seen by reference to Figure 3. The tops of thebafiles are supported in any suitable manner such as by members it and20 over which are positioned dead plates 2i and 22 so that the vaporsmust pass through the baffies before ascending through the tower. Apartition 23 extends across one side of the tower in the region 01 thepoint of flash to form a seg- It will be observed that head baflles 3|and 32 are attached to the tower head 33 by plates 34 and 35. Theseplates can be seen by reference to Figure 2 and are welded to the towerhead 33. The lower portions of the baflles 3| and 32 are secured toplates 35 and 31, which are equipped with lips 38 and 39, adapted toform pools to prevent the escape of vapors therethrough. Liquid knockeddown from the vapors collects on plates 38 and 31, overflows ledges 38and 39, and flows down the tower. The vapors passing through theinclined bailiesgo through ports 4| and ll, which are adapted to beconnected to a pair of pipe lines which emerge to a single line, passingto the condenser.

It is believed that the operation of my improved tower construction willbe apparent from the foregoing description. Oil heated to distillationtemperature is discharged into the tower through inlet pipes I and 9 tothe swirl plates l and ii and give a tangential motion. The vapors passthrough the battle bundles l2 and I3 and rise upwardly, the constituentsthereof condensing on the various trays according to their boilingpoints, and furnishing reflux which passes down the tower as is wellunderstood by those skilled in the art. The uncondensed vapors passthrough bame bundles 3| and 32. The head baflle bundles act as a trussfor supporting the head of the tower. By this means, the hemisphericalhead construction necessary in a vacuum tower is eflected, therebygiving a cheaper and a better construction. It will be noted that thevapors must change their course 90 degrees in passing through vaporoutlet ports 4. and l l. The inclined baiile bundles present a greaterbaflle area. In addition, the inclined arrangement places the locus ofsupport for the tower head 33 at a more advantageous point. The swirlingmotion given to the oil led into the tower tends to separate the heavyliquid particles by centrifugal force. Due to the improved bailingarrangement, the side streams are not contaminated, resulting in morevsatisfactory products and the tower is lessened in height inasmuch asthe desired fractionation can be obtained by eliminating thecontamination which would otherwise occur if entrained particles ofheavy oil were allowed to rise with the vaporswithin the tower.

It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of myclaims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made indetails within the scope of my claims without departing from the spiritof my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention isnot to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A fractionating tower including in combination a shell, a platepositioned within said shell, a pair of inlet pipes located on oppositesides of said shell and disposed to discharge tangentially of saidplate, a nest of inclined baflles positioned above said inlet pipes andextending across said shell, said baflles being formed of angle bars.

2. A fractionating tower including in combination a shell, a platepositioned within said shell, a pair of inlet pipes located on oppositesides of said shell and disposed to discharge tangentially of saidplate, a nest of inclined bafiles positioned above said inlet pipes andextending across said shell, said nest of battles being comprised of aplurality of bundles of angle bars inclined to each other and inclinedto the longitudinal axis of said shell.

3. A fractionating tower for fractionating hydrocarbon oils undersubatmospheric pressure including in combination a shell, a tangentiallydirected inlet to the shell, a plurality of inclined bailles disposedacross said shell above said inlet, a plurality of fractionating decksabove said bailles, a head, a vapor outlet pipe and a plurality ofinclined baflles extending between said shell and said head interposedbetween the top fractionating deck and said vapor outlet pipe, said lastnamed baflles acting as supports for said head.

4. A iractionating tower including in combination a shell, a platepositioned within said shell, a pair of inlet pipes located on oppositesides of said shell and disposed to discharge tangentially of saidplate, a nest of inclined baflles positioned above said inlet pipes andextending across said shell, a head for said tower and a plurality ofinclined bailles extending between said head and said shell.

JOHN H. ER'I'ER. 5

